Does social media have any influence on perceived dental appearance? A cross sectional survey 

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of social media on perceived dental appearance and to determine the correlation between time spent on social media and its impact on perceived dental appearance. Method: ology: It was a cross-sectional study based on web-based survey. A surveying tool was developed comprising questions about sociodemographic details, use of social media and its effect on perception of an individual regarding his/ her dental appearance. The number of responses received were 347 in a period of three months. Scores were given to variables of Confidence, depression, participation in social gatherings, being ignored socially and being bullied because of dental appearance. These scores were added and final score was categorized from “less than 0 (0)” as positive impact. Results: : Among 347 participants, 38% were males and 62% were females. Regarding perceived dental appearance, social media had positive impact on 310(89.3%) of participants and had negative impact on 37(10.7 %) of participants. No correlation was found between time spent on social media and impact on perceived dental appearance with P value statistically non-significant.(P value: 0.477) Conclusion: Majority of participants reported to have a positive impact of social media on perceived dental appearance. No statistically significant correlation was found between time spent on social media and its impact on perceived dental appearance.